Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Van Hollen is a more moderate left of center Democratic Party vote. As a result, he may break with the Democratic Party line more than his fellow members.

Biography

Van Hollen was born in 1959 in Karachi, Pakistan, where his father worked as a foreign service officer. He earned his B.A. from Swarthmore College, his M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and his J.D. from Georgetown Law School in 1982, 1985, and 1990, respectively. Prior to his political career, Van Hollen worked as an attorney.[3]

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

2011-2012

Issues

Lawsuit against IRS

Van Hollen announced on August 21, 2013, that he will file a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the agency's criteria for tax-exempt social welfare groups.[2]

The lawsuit will look at a discrepancy in the way federal law defines eligibility requirements for a 501(c)(4) group versus the way the IRS defines such groups, with the main differences coming down to two words: 'exclusively' and 'primarily.'.[2] The federal tax code states that a 501(c)(4) group is tax-exempt if the non-profit is "operated exclusively" to promote social welfare.[2] To meet the IRS social welfare requirements, an organization must "operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community." In other words, a group can participate in political advocacy, as long as its "primary" work benefits a larger community.[2]

The wording in IRS regulations has caused confusion amid the 2013 scandal in which the IRS admitted to applying extra scrutiny to 501(c)(4) groups with names tied to political activism. The controversy sparked numerous congressional hearings and a change in management at the agency.[2] While conservative groups with the names "tea party" and "patriot" were initially revealed as some of the targeted organizations, the IRS inspector general later said that groups with the word "progressive"–a common name found in liberal organizations–were also on a list of criteria for extra scrutiny.[2]

Van Hollen, the ranking member on the House Budget Committee, will file and initiate the suit against the Treasury Department and the IRS. Along with the group Democracy 21, other plaintiffs in the suit include the Campaign Legal Center and Public Citizen.[2]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Van Hollen voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[6]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Chris Van Hollen, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Chris Van Hollen won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Michael Lee Philips (R), Mark Grannis (L) and Fred Nordhorn (Constitution) in the general election.[10]

U.S. House, Maryland District 8 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Chris Van Hollenincumbent

73.3%

153,613

Republican

Michael Lee Philips

25%

52,421

Libertarian

Mark Grannis

1.3%

2,713

Constitution

Fred Nordhorn

0.3%

696

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

224

Total Votes

209,667

2008

On November 4, 2008, Chris Van Hollen won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steve Hudson (R), Ian Thomas (L), Gordon Clark (Green), Deborah A. Vollmer (D; Write-in) and Lih Young (D; Write-in) in the general election.[11]

U.S. House, Maryland District 8 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Chris Van Hollenincumbent

75.1%

229,740

Republican

Steve Hudson

21.7%

66,351

Libertarian

Ian Thomas

0.8%

2,562

Green

Gordon Clark

2.2%

6,828

Democratic Write-in

Deborah A. Vollmer

0.1%

188

Democratic Write-in

Lih Young

0%

28

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

317

Total Votes

306,014

2006

On November 7, 2006, Chris Van Hollen won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jeffrey M. Stein (R) and Gerard P. Giblin (Green) in the general election.[12]

U.S. House, Maryland District 8 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Chris Van Hollenincumbent

76.5%

168,872

Republican

Jeffrey M. Stein

21.9%

48,324

Green

Gerard P. Giblin

1.5%

3,298

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

191

Total Votes

220,685

2004

On November 2, 2004, Chris Van Hollen won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Chuck Floyd (R) and Lih Young (D; Write-in) in the general election.[13]

U.S. House, Maryland District 8 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Chris Van Hollenincumbent

74.9%

215,129

Republican

Chuck Floyd

25.1%

71,989

Democratic Write-in

Lih Young

0%

79

Total Votes

287,197

2002

On November 5, 2002, Chris Van Hollen won election to the United States House. He defeated Constance A. Morella (R) and Stephen Bassett (Unaffiliated) in the general election.[14]

U.S. House, Maryland District 8 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Chris Van Hollen

51.7%

112,788

Republican

Constance A. Morella

47.5%

103,587

Unaffiliated

Stephen Bassett

0.7%

1,599

Total Votes

217,974

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Chris Van Hollen is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Chris Van Hollen raised a total of $12,070,702 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.[15]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Van Hollen missed 98 of 7,661 roll call votes from Jan 2003 to Mar 2013, which is 1.3% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[23]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Van Hollen paid his congressional staff a total of $1,102,671 in 2011. He ranked 51st on the list of the highest paid Democratic representative staff salaries and ranked 64th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Maryland ranked 11th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[24]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Van Hollen's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $33,006 and $146,000. This averages to $89,503, which is a 69.81% decrease since 2010. This is lower than the $5,107,874 average net worth for Democratic representatives in 2011.[25]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Van Hollen's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $148,007 and $445,000. That averages to $296,503.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[26]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Van Hollen was ranked the 64th most liberal representative during 2012.[27]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Chris Van Hollen was ranked the 114th most liberal representative during 2011.[28]

Percentage voting with party

June 2013

Chris Van Hollen voted with the Democratic Party 93.4% of the time, which ranked 71 among the 201 House Democratic members as of June 2013.[29]

Recent news

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Personal

Van Hollen lives in Kensington, Maryland with his wife, Katherine, and their three children.[30]